


#NakedChallenge

by VampireMadonna



Series: Engineering Boyfriends: The King and the Ram [1]
Category: My Engineer (TV), My Engineer มีช็อป มีเกียร์ มีเมียรึยังวะ
Genre: But mostly fluff, King's internal monologue, M/M, fluff with a little spice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23556916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireMadonna/pseuds/VampireMadonna
Summary: King attempts the #NakedChallenge. It does not go as he'd hoped...
Relationships: King/Ram, Ram/King
Series: Engineering Boyfriends: The King and the Ram [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705057
Comments: 14
Kudos: 354





	#NakedChallenge

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this tweet https://twitter.com/rckyryalty/status/1246696170887380993

King’s had some pretty wacky ideas in his time but this one might take the cake.

It all started with a Tik Tok compilation video that he came across. He was very active on social media, everyone knew that about him, so the fact that he occasionally participated in trending ‘challenges’ would come as a surprise to no one. And yet, this one might shock even Tee.

_#NakedChallenge_

The videos consisted of girls – damn internet heteronormativity – “surprising” their boyfriends while they were in deep concentration carrying out some task, mostly gaming. Normally King wouldn’t even think of something this extreme except...

He was happy; Lord knew that he was. School was going great, he had a gorgeous boyfriend whom he adored and his friends were – mostly – the best he could ever ask for. Recently, both he and Ram had gotten caught up in school projects so they hadn’t had a lot of free time but they still made the most of it. Ram spent at least a couple of nights a week at his place and even though they were usually too tired to do more than kiss and cuddle, he was content.

Some days, he still couldn’t believe they’d even come this far. It was nothing short of a miracle considering their beginning. Even now, six months later, Ram still wasn’t one to waste words; something Tee constantly teased King about.

 _“Are you_ sure _that you’re together or did you ask him and took his silence as agreement?”_

King rolled his eyes at the memory of his friend’s words. He knew that Tee didn’t mean it, he supported them fully and was happy for King, but that didn’t mean he didn’t get irritated by the jokes sometimes.

His irritation never lasted, though. All he had to do was think of Ram and warmth would immediately spread throughout his chest. His friends only knew what they saw, what King _allowed_ them to see, but there was a time when he’d given up; when he’d walked away from Ram, convinced that his feelings were one-sided and that Ram was only tolerating him because he was his senior. Even when Ram had claimed otherwise, he didn’t believe him, but Ram hadn’t given up, hadn’t allowed King to pull away: to push him away. Eventually, he’d accepted Ram’s words, allowing himself to believe, against all hope, that Ram really did care about him. So Tee, that bastard, could tease him all he wanted because he didn’t know that Ram had stepped up and fought for him, for _them_ , when it counted.

They’d been together six blissfully happy months now. Tee liked to tease him that he liked Ram because he was unique, like King’s plants, and one day the novelty would wear off but King knew that he was wrong. Ram was his first real relationship. He’d kissed a couple of girls and guys before but none had stuck because they hadn’t interested him enough to make the effort but Ram...with Ram, he’d known from the moment he set his eyes on him in the library. King didn’t consider himself much of a romantic but there was something to be said about love at first sight. That the universe or fate – and sometimes Bohn and Duen – kept bringing them together further convinced him that they were meant to be. In the end, everything had worked out better than he ever could’ve hoped. However, despite his overall success, he’d still found himself in his current situation.

In their six months together, they’d gotten to know each other intimately. They still hadn’t done _that_ , had decided up front that it was something they needed to sit down, discuss and plan if or when the time came, but they’d done a lot of other stuff. King knew what Ram’s hands felt like on his body, how hot and heavy the weight of him was pressing him into his mattress; the flush across Ram’s pale skin and sounds he made when he came. He was more than satisfied. Or he had been, until recently. With their full schedules, their sex life had tapered off somewhat and he didn’t blame Ram, not at all, but he still wished that sometimes he’d show some kind of interest; maybe take the initiative.

For example, just then Ram was in his living room playing an online game with his friends. It was a Friday night and, knowing that Ram would be sleeping over, King had hoped that they would have dinner, maybe watch a movie together on the sofa and make out for the rest of the night. Or, you know, _something_. Instead, Ram had informed him that their league would be engaged until about 10:30. He’d asked King if it was okay – Ram was always considerate – and King had said that it was. He didn’t want to be _that_ kind of partner. Ram rarely asked for anything at all and with the lack of free time lately, King knew that he had to be missing spending time with his friends as well. Still, it was supposed to be _their_ time and here he was in his bedroom, alone, trying to figure out a way to get under his boyfriend’s skin.

Enter: the _#NakedChallenge_.

King usually kept Ram out of his social media shenanigans. Ram already put up with and never complained about his exuberant personality and incessant photo-taking – his boyfriend was hot and the world deserved to know what they were missing out on, naturally – so he was always mindful of their differences and never tried to force him into anything that he might not want to do, even if King really, _really_ would’ve liked them to do it together (there were so many cute/funny couple challenges). However, there was no rule stating that he had to post a video of him doing the challenge. That wasn’t the part that interested him, not at all. Rather, he couldn’t help wondering what kind of reaction a stunt like that would elicit from Ram.

In King’s mind, the best – best, _best_ – case scenario was Ram dropping everything and carting him off to bed. He was _very_ on board with that idea. The next best, and the one he secretly wanted the most, was to see Ram flustered and flushed with surprise. It was almost impossible to ruffle his boyfriend’s feathers and the only time he ever saw him red was in the bedroom, which he did not mind at all and maybe they could still end up there once he got over his shock at King’s forwardness.

The worst case scenario, to him at least, was that Ram, completely and utterly confused, would ask him what the hell he was doing. It would be marginally embarrassing but he wouldn’t take it personally because Ram was clueless about social media trends and that was usually his reaction whenever King did something peculiar, which happened often enough if he was honest with himself. Even though Ram hadn’t said the words – King had and Ram had kissed him senseless in response – King knew that Ram loved him: weirdness and all.

He was stuck, though. He couldn’t decide what the best way to go about it was. Did he go full monty or wear his boxers? The title of the challenge and the girls in the videos implied that they were fully nude but he didn’t want to just _attack_ Ram with his nakedness; he wanted to gain his interest. He wanted Ram to want him. Blatant nudity might be a bit much – it _definitely_ would be extreme, considering Ram’s personality – and he didn’t necessarily consider that sexy but there were other ways to go about it.

He had some ideas but it would really help if he could bounce them off of someone. Out of all of his friends, Tee was the best bet for something like that. He knew everything about everything. Unfortunately, King didn’t trust him to keep his stupid jokes to himself long enough to be helpful and he didn’t want to risk having his mood ruined. Bohn had experience but he was an over-sharer. He already talked far too much about his and Duen’s sex life. To be honest, King had expected Duen to hold out until marriage – or death – but according to Bohn, Duen could be quite the little tempter when he wanted to be. Boss and Mek were definite nos. His sisters could and would help but they’d also want all the dirty details, perverts that they were. He really didn’t have any other options, except...

He smiled slightly as the thought struck him. It was a risk, reaching out to a junior who he got along with but didn’t know _that_ well, but he trusted her to be discreet and well, he really didn’t have any other choice.

Grabbing his phone, he opened LINE and sent a video call. She didn’t answer immediately but when she did, her face was creased in confusion.

“P’King?”

“Ai, Ting.”

There was no one who understood Ram better than his friends and Ting Ting was probably the only one who could offer useful advice, which she would hopefully keep to herself afterwards. The two of them weren’t super close but with Duen and Ram dating Bohn and himself, both friend groups spent a lot of time together.

Her frown deepened. “Did you call me by accident, P?”

“No,” he assured her. “Actually, I wanted your input on something.”

That seemed to pique her interest. “Oh?”

“Yeah, um...” He cleared his throat, trying to think of the best way to explain why he’d called. In the end, he decided not to mince words. He was borderline impatient and just wanted to get the show on the road. “It’s a personal matter. I hope that I can trust your discretion.”

“Of course, P.”

“Have you heard of the #NakedChallenge?”

Ting’s eyebrow shot up in surprise. “Uh...sort of. I think I’ve seen a few videos circulating.”

“Okay, great,” he replied more enthusiastically, feeling his excitement kick in. “Well, I was wondering... If I were to try to do it, to Ram of course, what do you think would be the best way to go about it?|

Ting, who had just been taking a drink out of a mug, nearly choked at his words. “What...What was that, P?”

“My boyfriend is currently sitting in the living room on a Friday night playing video games with your other friends,” he said plainly. “I want him to pay attention to _me_ and I need your help to do it.”

“Oh. Wow. That’s....wow.”

She looked stunned speechless, eyes and mouth slightly agape, and King couldn’t help feeling slightly mortified.

 _This is what my life has come to_ , he thought pitifully. _Seeking sex advice from a_ nong _._

Finally, seemingly having gathered her thoughts, Ting ventured, “Well...P, I’m sure you know by now that Ram isn’t your typical guy. He’s never been with anyone but you and I’m just his friend so I don’t know what his turn ons and offs are.”

King couldn’t help preening internally at that. It wasn’t news to him but it made him feel special all the same. Just like Ram had been unique and interesting to him, there had to have been something about him to make Ram take a chance on him when he’d never given anyone else a shot.

“What were you thinking of doing?” Ting asked.

“Well, it’s called the _naked_ challenge so I assume it could be that simple and direct but I thought maybe it would be better to be a little more flirty and...enticing. I don’t want to just shove my goods in his face; I want to lure him in.”

“You can tone down the imagery there, P’King. You’re hot but Ram is like a brother to me and the thought of the two of you... Well, at least it’s not as gross a mental picture as P’Bohn and Duen.” She shuddered and fake gagged for emphasis. “He really shares too much.”

King snapped his fingers to get her back on track.

“Right, your idea sounds good. So, you’re going to put on a bit of a performance then?”

This was the part that had King stumped. He wanted to turn Ram on, not bore him with theatrics. He didn’t want to go overboard but he didn’t want to underwhelm him either. There had to be some kind of middle ground.

“Do you have any sexy underwear, P?” Ting prodded.

“Um...what qualifies as sexy?” he asked sincerely. He was a guy. As far as he was concerned, underwear was only meant to be functional. Not that Ram didn’t look sexy in _his_ undies but it wasn’t the underwear itself that did it for King: it was what was _in_ it.

“I’ll take that as a _no_ , then. Well, no worries. It’s not the underwear itself, it’s the presentation right?”

King nodded in agreement.

“Maybe if you wore your best/closest to sexy underwear and walked out there confidently and...” She made a thrusting motion with her chest and wiggled her shoulders, repeating it a couple of times. “Bam!”

He wasn’t sure exactly what that was supposed to mean but more ideas were flooding King’s mind so whatever it was, it was working.

“I could wear a shirt. Underwear and a shirt,” he suggested. “Maybe my school shirt. All the way open or partially buttoned?”

“Are you thinking about role-playing, P? You be the sexy student and Ram the studious professor? Ooh, that actually sounds really hot...” she mused, getting lost in her thoughts.

“Focus, Ting!”

“Um, sorry P. Yeah, open sounds good. Maybe hanging off one shoulder. Showing some skin but not _everything_.”

 _Yes_ , King thought. He could picture it clearly, standing in the doorway of his bedroom, the bed behind him. When he called out to Ram, Ram would see both him and the bed in one frame. Maybe it would give Ram some ideas of his own. Maybe...

“I gotta go, Ting. Thanks for the help,” he rushed, jumping to his feet.

She barely managed a, “Bye, P! Good luck!” before he disconnected.

King’s mind was racing as he paced, formulating his plan. He walked to the bedroom door and opened it quietly, peeking out at Ram. He was exactly where King had left him: laptop balanced on his thighs, headset on, eyes glued to the screen as he spoke quietly into the mic. He didn’t notice King looking at him and King closed the door before he could sense his presence.

Ram wouldn’t be moving any time soon so he could take his time getting ready. The headset might prove to be a problem, though. If he had to walk in front of Ram to get his attention, he would lose the visual aesthetic and subliminal suggestion of the door-frame/bed in the background. A small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things, he ultimately decided.

He set about changing his clothes, thankful that he’d already showered so he wouldn’t have to leave his bedroom and risk drawing Ram’s attention prematurely. He swapped his underwear, setting aside the one he’d taken off – he’d only worn it for an hour, it would be a waste to put it to wash – and slipped into the ‘sexiest’ pair of underwear he owned, i.e., the last pair of briefs he’d bought. He was usually a boxer-brief kind of guy but he’d bought this to wear with a super-tight pair of jeans that he reserved for when he and Ram did date night.

Next, he traipsed over to his open closet, still mulling over his choice of shirts. He’d mentioned wearing his faculty shirt to Ting but her role-play comment made him wonder if it was a bit too pretentious. Not that he had anything against role-play, if Ram ever wanted to try he’d be 100% on board, but he didn’t want it to look like he’d put _too_ much effort into organizing everything...even if he had. He had a very simple white shirt that would suffice and make his tanned skin pop even more but...

Stifling a sigh, he grabbed his navy-blue school shirt and tugged it on. He wished that the sleeves were longer but there was nothing he could do about that. At least the rest of it was good: loose-fitting and short enough that it ended just above the curve of his ass in back and his bulge in front. If Ram didn’t appreciate the view, well...

Pushing the thought from his head, he closed the closet door and perused himself in the full-length mirror. He looked hot. Like...he knew that he was attractive, a unique mix of pretty and handsome he’d been told, and while his body was lean, he wasn’t thin by any means. His stomach was flat and toned; a thin happy trail leading into his briefs. His legs were long, smooth and, at least from a distance, looked almost hairless. His hair was his crowning glory, of course: framing his face in a way that made him look delicate yet captivating. It had gotten a little longer recently, reaching past his ears. If anyone asked, he would simply say that he’d been too busy to get a trim but the truth was that he’d noticed Ram’s penchant for running his hands through his hair when they lounged on the couch and sometimes – a rare occurrence – he’d even grip it in bed, usually when he wanted King to shut up and focus and King not-so-secretly liked it.

He kicked off his slippers, deciding that barefoot was sexier, grabbed his phone and made his way to the bedroom door. He mentally rehearsed what he would say, tried to picture what facial expressions would best suit the pose he was about to strike and then called himself out for stalling.

Taking a deep breath, he switched his phone to video mode, counted to three then opened the door.

Ram was still on the couch but he’d removed the headset, for which King sent up a vote of thanks. See, the Universe/Fate was _always_ on their side.

He quickly arranged himself in the doorway, not wanting to ruin his chances by taking too long. He was nervous but his excitement and anticipation far overpowered his anxiety.

Starting the video, he took a deep breath and, as confidently as he could manage, called Ram’s name.

Ram didn’t look up but grunted in acknowledgement instead, to which King rolled his eyes before calling again.

_“Ram!”_

This time Ram raised his head, his eyes following a couple seconds later, and met King’s gaze.

With his stomach churning, King gave him his most inviting smile and waited.

And waited, and waited, and waited.

Ram, however, merely continued to stare at him, expressionless.

Seconds ticked by but it felt like hours turning into days. Gone were King’s butterflies, now replaced by a heavy chill.

Humiliated, he turned away and stepped back into the bedroom, stopping just short of slamming the door.

Barely sparing a second to stop the video, King tossed his phone on the bed, following immediately after.

God, he’d never been so embarrassed in his life. He’d weighed the possibilities, knew that he wasn’t guaranteed the outcome he wanted, but he’d at least expected _something_. No reaction at all made him feel...well, simply put it _hurt_. He’d never felt such crushing pain before. His heart was beating wildly in his chest yet at the same time, he felt like he could hardly breathe. It might have something to do with the fact that he was face down on his bed but still... Even his eyes burned. He wasn’t a crier but his heart ached enough that his eyes watered.

How was he ever supposed to look Ram in the eyes again after...after being rejected? He knew that Ram hadn’t done it on purpose, he knew that Ram legitimately cared for him, but that was what it felt like. Like the person he wanted most in the world didn’t want him back. He didn’t know how he was supposed to bounce back from that.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

“P?”

He didn’t reply, taking a shuddering breath as he rolled to his side and stared at the door, expecting it to open.

“P’King... Can you come out here, please?”

Was he serious? After what had just happened, he expected King to just go back out there like everything was fine?

Sitting up, King glanced down at himself and grimaced. He couldn’t go out there so...exposed. But if he changed his clothes, he’d be showing Ram just how much he’d affected him. Maybe it was vanity but he wanted to salvage whatever was left of his shredded pride and changing his clothes would make him feel like a coward. Like he’d done something wrong and deserved to be humiliated and rejected. But he hadn’t. The only thing he’d done was to love his boyfriend more than he loved him back, apparently.

Sniffling, he wiped his nose and stood, straightening his shirt before heading towards the door.

Throwing it open, he expected Ram to still be standing there, waiting – or maybe he’d hoped – but instead he was back on the sofa. At least he’d had the decency to get off the laptop.

Barely sparing him a glance, King stomped over – as much as one could stomp while barefoot – and stopped just short of the couch.

Ram silently held out a hand, beckoning him closer, and King really wanted to ignore it but as hurt as he was, he needed comforting and he wasn’t going to get that from himself.

He inched closer until Ram sighed and reached forward, grabbing him by the wrist.

“Aye!” he protested. They’d been together _six months_ and Ram had yet to hold his hand properly. He always grabbed him by the wrist or arm and dragged him off wherever he wanted to go. King had talked to him about it many times but Ram’s nature was unflinching in some regards. This, apparently, was one of them.

“You don’t have to...” he started to complain, sputtering when he was tugged until he stumbled onto Ram’s lap.

Somehow, he found himself straddling his boyfriend’s thighs with his boyfriend’s hands settled lightly on his waist.

Before he could say anything, Ram’s hands tightened, rocking him forward a bit until...

_Oh! Oh, my. That..._

“Is _this_ what you were looking for?” he asked. There was this particular tone that Ram used, low and soft and unintentionally sexy, that did things to King and with just that question, he could feel heat flooding his body.

 _It’s not fair_ , he mentally groused. One word and he was putty in Ram’s hands. Whereas before he’d been avoiding Ram’s gaze because he was upset, now he was avoiding it because he suddenly felt shy and knew that he was blushing. The effect Ram had on him was insane.

King was so caught up in his inner tantrum that he didn’t realize that Ram was undressing him until he felt Ram’s hands gliding along his skin as he pushed the shirt off his arms. Goosebumps peppered his skin but he moved his arms accordingly until the shirt fell to the ground.

Ram’s hands resettled on the bare skin of his waist, hot and firm. He was watching King, eyes intense, and it was all King could do not to squirm. He held it in, though, waiting for Ram to make his move. He’d done enough already.

Finally, Ram leaned in and just as their lips met, King smiled to himself.

He’d wanted a reaction and this was much, _much_ better than he could’ve imagined.

_The next morning..._

King wasn’t usually an early riser, much like Ram wasn’t a late sleeper, but he was buzzing too much to sleep deeply and found himself watching the sun come up.

After their first round on the couch, they’d cleaned up and had a late night snack before watching a movie in bed. Thinking back, King honestly couldn’t say what it had even been about because halfway through, Ram’s lips and hands had started wandering and the next thing he knew, they were going at it again. It might shock people to know that his very silent, very reserved boyfriend had an insatiable appetite at times.

They’d entered new territory, too, he thought, feeling his cheeks flame at the memory of Ram’s hands on his body.

The butterflies were back in his stomach but this time, it was the good kind. He was just so blissfully happy. Too happy to sleep, replaying the night over and over again in his head; at least from the couch onward. He’d decided that anything before that hadn’t happened and that was that.

He’d watched the sun filtering through the window chase the shadows from the room and he was hungry, and really needed to pee, but he refused to move. Ram was dead asleep beside him; King cocooned beneath Ram’s arm and the blankets. He didn’t want this to end just yet.

Freeing his own arm, he reached for his phone on the bedside table. He had several notifications, including a few messages, which he ignored except for the missed call and LINE message from Ting.

_“How did it go?????”_

King bit his lower lip, holding in a smile. He would love nothing more than to tell her everything, especially since she’d helped him, but he couldn’t do that when he complained about Bohn over-sharing all the time. Although, at least she’d _asked_.

Opening the camera, he turned on selfie-mode and watched them with an adoring eye.

They looked hot together. Ram was settled against the pillows, his muscular shoulders and the top of his chest on display, while King’s head nestled on his shoulder, Ram’s left arm curled around his neck. There was a tattoo of his huskies – King’s dog phobia hadn’t gone away completely but he got along well enough with Ram’s affectionate beasts so he was particularly fond of that one – a sort of three-in-one illusion, on the bend of his elbow but what really stood out was the crown on the middle-dog’s head.

About three months into their relationship, Ram had quietly gone to the tattoo parlour and returned with the new embellishment. When King first saw it, he’d been taken aback, then confused, then he’d excused himself to the bathroom and wept like a baby. Months ago, when they’d just been getting to know one another, he’d told Ram that he’d wanted to get a tattoo of his name behind his ear but his fear of needles prevented him. He was still terrified of needles and would probably be for the foreseeable future and, perhaps knowing that, Ram had gone ahead and gotten it for him. Ram never explained it, never said a word, but King knew. He just knew.

As he stared at it, smiling to himself, he touched the crown, _his_ crown, with gentle fingers.

Placing a light hold around Ram’s wrist, he positioned his head so that the tattoo was just beneath his chin and snapped a quick picture.

They looked _so_ good together.

One of the things he loved most about them was there contrasts. They were different in every way, from personality to their physiques, yet they fit together like they were made for each other.

Giving into temptation, he quickly shared the picture on Facebook and tossed his phone aside, ignoring the vibration that followed almost immediately.

Ram wouldn’t be too happy about it but he wouldn’t complain. When he saw the picture, he’d understand why King shared it.

Closing his eyes, King wrapped Ram’s arm tighter around himself and continued to smile to as he thought about the caption he’d included.

At least when Ting saw it, she’d understand why he didn’t reply:

_#NakedChallenge: Success!_

**Author's Note:**

> There were a lot of things that I wanted to mention, like King being thick as thieves with Ram's mother and more details throughout the progression of their relationship, but this was only supposed to be a 5-page crack fic about the failed challenge and it spun out of control into THIS so...Maybe next time. Hope you enjoyed it and feel free to leave a comment!


End file.
